Spring Newsletter 2020

WELCOME

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CONTENTS

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IN THIS ISSUE...

WELCOME03

Year 4 production of ‘Porridge’.

GHS HIGHLIGHTS

ART12

Mr Gibb reflects on an action-packed Lent Term.

PASTORAL EVENTS22This term saw the GHS Crocuses bloom and the girls enjoy Wellbeing Week and Hygge Day.

Playful pianists and sensational strings, this term saw a fantastic music festival and spring concert from Pre-Prep

MUSIC08

SPORT26A round-up of this term’s sport with excellent results in gymnastics and a busy term for Pre-Prep sport.

VISITS & TRIPS14

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A beautiful round-up of the art produced by the girls this term.

Two trips to Brooklands Museum, a mummifying experience in Haslemere and a trip to the Zoo!

AROUND SCHOOL16Innovative ideas on S.T.E.A.M Day to creatively colourful costumes on World Book Day.

COMMUNITY25Year 6 hosted a morning of coffee and music for our local senior citizens and the girls worked with Surrey Wildlife to make the school eco-friendly.

What an exciting yet thought-provoking term this has been. This newsletter is full of the fabulous events which have happened this term. The spirit and enthusiasm of the girls shines through everything they do, from drama productions to concerts, workshops to school trips. The Year 4 production of ‘Porridge’ was a joy to watch; the girls performed brilliantly

and it was such an entertaining evening. Who will forget the pantomime cow and its mysterious antics! Wellbeing Week is always a highlight; the girls loved the varied extra activities and wearing slippers in school is always a bonus! The S.T.E.A.M day early in the term was brilliant with an inspiring mix of activities and new experiences for all the girls. Enjoy reading all about their endeavours.

It would be fair to say that this has been a challenging term for us all. The weather has not been at its best with a succession of storms hitting us, and the last few weeks have been dominated by the difficulties which the coronavirus has presented to us all. I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff who have been amazing throughout, to all the parents for their support and to the girls who always bring a smile to our faces.

I hope everyone has a restful and safe Easter break.

Mr Mike Gibb

WELCOME FROM THE HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL

GHS HIGHLIGHTS GHS HIGHLIGHTS

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YEAR 4 PRODUCTION: ‘PORRIDGE’

‘Porridge’ was a mix of jokes and catchy songs. The characters were all from different nursery rhymes and there were many references to their original songs or rhymes throughout the play. We were very excited as the play started because we knew there would be lots of laughter as there were so many funny jokes in the script. There were fun songs which we enjoyed performing to the audience. The opening song, Once Upon a Crime, was probably our favourite. The scene where Jack Spratt met with Goldie at the start was the flashback which started the whole play and set the scene for all the different characters. In the final scene, we all found it very funny as the suitcases were all mixed up. Someone stole Mother Hubbard’s recipe book and the Billy Goats kidnapped Marigold the Cow. Jack Spratt and the slightly ineffective Police officers tried to solve the various crimes.

Class 4M

GHS HIGHLIGHTS GHS HIGHLIGHTS

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MUSIC MUSIC

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PLAYFUL PIANISTSPerforming in an ensemble with others is always great fun and reassuring to have a team around you. To perform as a soloist requires a recipe of self-confidence, determination and focus. Our young pianists certainly showed these elements in abundance at the first Piano Concert of the year when they treated their warm and appreciative audience to an array of enchanting pieces. The command of the keyboard, from those girls who have been learning for barely more than a term to those with several years of dedicated practice in their fingers, was exemplary and their delightful playing brightened a wintery Thursday.

Mrs Rachel Wardell

WOODWIND CONCERTThe Woodwind family were represented brilliantly by our talented girls. With flutes, clarinets, tenoroons and saxophones playing traditional folk tunes through to some extremely complicated Jazz via every style in between, it was obvious to the appreciative audience just how much the girls love playing their instruments and performing. What a show of talent! Thank you girls – we loved hearing you play on such a sunny Friday.

Mrs Rachel Wardell

SENSATIONAL STRINGSThere was definitely some sensational playing at our second String Concert. A slick, polished showcase of talented girls performed a wonderful array of pieces to a warm and appreciative audience. From the youngest girls, some of whom have only had 12 lessons and are already bowing with confidence, to those girls for whom their violin, viola, ‘cello, harp or guitar have become an extension of themselves. Every performer demonstrated her control of a wide range of dynamics.

Mrs Rachel Wardell

PRE-PREP INTER-HOUSE MUSIC FESTIVALAfter two weeks of exciting performances in the Music Room, it was time to share the wonderful talent of the Pre-Prep girls with their audience and our esteemed adjudicator, Mrs Katherine Dienes-Williams. The delightful piano class showed fabulous techniques developing. There was also some very confident string playing on show and we all enjoyed the variety of styles of pieces. The tootling recorder playing was great fun. Congratulations to Kai Li, Abigail and Sophie who all earned extra points for their Houses. The Ensembles class is a favourite and the Hall was full of the Pre-Prep and their wonderful supporters. Almost every girl showed the courage to stand on the stage and shine whilst performing. This truly was a wonderful festival of music and Mrs Dienes-Williams was extremely complementary about the confidence and musicality of everyone. Well done to Abbot House who won the cup for the most points.

Mrs Rachel Wardell

MUSIC MUSIC

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YEAR 5 STEEL PAN WORKSHOP

We went into the Hall not knowing what to expect. We learnt that the inside of the steel pan was dipped, concave, and very different from other instruments and the dents in the pans made the different notes. We needed two beaters which we had to hold lightly to tap the pan gently to make a beautiful ringing sound. Instead of having notes in a consecutive sequence, like on almost every other instrument, they were in a circle of 5ths and thankfully there were coloured dots to help us. We learnt about Calypso tunes and how they are played. We played maracas and cow bells (as the ‘engine room’) and the steel pans and the engine room polyrhythms sounded cool and catchy together. Using the different rhythms, we created a piece of music. It was a really interesting and fun experience which we will not forget – music in the Caribbean is so very different from where we live.

Class 5J

‘IT’S A SPRING THING!’The levels of enthusiasm and energy in the Pre-Prep Spring Concert, not to mention the ability to learn copious poems and song lyrics, never fail to inspire me and I am sure the rest of the audience. The feel-good factor this year was very definitely palpable in the 2016 Hall, the girls giving us a spring afternoon to remember. Their smiles and actions, their roof-raising singing (and demonstrating that they can sing quietly just as successfully as loudly!) and delivery of poems which made us smile, laugh and go ‘ahh’! What more could we have asked for on a Friday afternoon in March? Just perfect! Thank you girls for your wonderful performance.

Mrs Rachel Wardell

ART ART

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LENT ART ROUND-UPThe Lent Term has seen 12 weeks of explosive creativity as all year groups have enjoyed energetic input into our various projects. Whilst Reception manipulated wire, feathers and pom poms to create minibeasts, Year 1 created Modroc polar bears from recycled materials. Year 2 studied the work of William Morris and designed their own polystyrene prints and the results have been astounding! Year 3 have been busy creating the most beautiful Indian pattern inspired handmade stamps whilst Year 4 have made a very comprehensive study of Egyptian paintings. Year 5 studied chalk drawings of Eduard Degars’ Dancers and Year 6 have taken inspiration from romantic landscapes to create their own acrylic paintings. With boundless energy and motivation, you can see why there really has been a ‘creative explosion’ in the Art room!

Ms Pia Kanaan

Artists are: Alice RB, Lily RB, Florence 2A, Faye 3P, Holly 3P, Sophie 3V, Zara 5J & Maia 6H Artists are: Anoushka RB, Sienna 1C, Florence 2A, Isabella 3V, Izzy 4S & Zara 6S,

VISITS & TRIPS VISITS & TRIPS

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A MUMMIFYING DAY AT HASLEMERE MUSEUMYear 4 had an amazing time at Haslemere Museum, mummifying teddies and playing Egyptian games. We discovered how to mummify a human and preserved organs in canopic jars. We looked at hieroglyphs and had a go at Egyptian top trumps. We had lots of fun looking at ancient artefacts and the real mummy wrapped up next to its coffin was incredible! Finally, we mummified our teddies! We bandaged them up and wrote hieroglyphs on a piece of papyrus and stuck it on with masking tape (lots of us put our teddies names). That was our SMASHING day at Haslemere Museum.

Heidi, Class 4M

YEARS 2 AND 3 VISIT BROOKLANDS MUSEUM

Years 2 and 3 were treated to fun trips to Brooklands. Hilda Hewlett visited Year 2 to tell us about her car adventures, and we spotted her locker near the racetrack. Year 2 collected stamps as we learnt about the different skills needed to build a plane. Year 3 went to the mechanics room and made cars from bottles, corks and wooden wheels which we then raced on the track. We enjoyed going on the different aeroplanes and sitting on the seats as if we were going on holiday. To top it off, we even went inside Concorde! Concorde only carried one hundred people at a time and travelled at over 1000 mile per hour. Both year groups had fantastic days at Brooklands.

Class 2A & Mambinta, Class 3V

YEAR 5 VISIT LONDON ZOOYear 5 were transported to the wildness of Africa, the humidity of the rainforest and the coldness of Antarctica when we visited London Zoo. We saw many animals that are known to be endangered and many of us had never seen before. We met a monkey called Bandit and Jimmy! Jimmy was a black gibbon monkey (also known as the Ladies’ Man) and he came to greet us. In our fun-filled workshop, we met Charlie and Colin the Madagascan hissing cockroaches. They pretended they were snakes hissing loudly. We had a quick peep into the Night Zones where we were able to see lots of nocturnal creatures.

Tamsin & Scarlett, Class 5C

AROUND SCHOOL

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AROUND SCHOOL

YEAR 1 ISLE OF STRUAY WORKSHOPYear 1 had a wonderful time when they took an imaginary train to the Isle of Struay in Scotland. They loved discovering the key areas from the story and meeting/becoming characters such as Katie Morag and Mrs McColl. The girls were excited to participate in various drama activities where they could express themselves through their actions. They could not wait to go into more detail about the Isle of Struay in their Geography lessons.

Class 1C

SURREY FIRE BRIGADE VISIT GHSWe met a Firefighter! We liked the Firefighter’s helmet, jacket and boots – we were even allowed to try them on. They were a bit big for us! We learnt about what to do if there is a fire and to check our smoke alarms. We went outside and saw the fire engine; it was red. We sprayed the hose in the big girl’s playground and we tried to splash people; it was very funny. Some of the other classes also came out to see the fire engine and they tried their hands at using the fire hose.

Class RB

S.T.E.A.M DAY

On S.T.E.A.M Day the girls were buzzing with excitement as they took part in a myriad of activities related to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. Reception and Year 1 created their own minibeasts, whilst Year 1 also investigated dinosaur eggs and studied various objects under a microscope. Year 2 made tie-dye shirts and designed igloos using marshmallows and cocktail sticks. In KS2, Year 3 built and raced robots, whilst Year 4 made lava lamps. Year 5 launched rockets and Years 5 and 6 took part in construction workshops. The girls also enjoyed astonaut testing which challenged the girls’ accuracy, endurance, balance, speed and reactions. It was a fantastic day.

Mrs Chloe Jones

AROUND SCHOOL

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AROUND SCHOOL

PROFESSOR IMOGEN VISITS YEAR 2Professor Imogen joined us to talk about healthy eating. We learnt about the various food groups and how eating different foods helps us with our energy, muscles and digestion. We discovered you can get diseases and become ill if you do not eat enough fibre and that water does not contain minerals and you have to get them from fruit and vegetables. We used all our ideas to help the big machine hatch an egg which had a little machine inside. We had so many ideas that we received a certificate at the end.

Class 2A

YEAR 5 RAINFOREST WORKSHOPWe travelled to the Amazon Rainforest to learn about the Rainforest and deforestation with Openbox. We learnt about all the different layers in the forest, from the forest floor to the understory, canopy and emergent layers and we then pretended to be leaf cutter ants. They showed us how the Yano tribe lives, before we pretended to be a person in the Yano tribe. Did you know the size of twenty football pitches are being cut down in the rainforest every minute?

Sophie & Sophia, Class 5J

YEAR 6 CLASSICS ASSEMBLY AND WINNERS OF CLASSICS COMPETITION AT CHARTERHOUSE SCHOOLYear 6 have been learning about Romans in our Classics lessons this year. This term we created and performed a humorous and intriguing role play and were asked to perform it to the rest of the Junior School in an assembly. We really enjoyed working on this project and we presented clearly and confidently with a touch of humour as well!

Additionally Isobel, Niamh, Marikit, Chloe and Julia went to Charterhouse School for a Classics Competition and to defend the GHS title of Year 6 winners. We entered the first round with our carefully selected costumes and props and our performance went very well. Before we knew it, we were through to the finals. The huge hall was filled with excited people as the Year 6 team began performing. The two slaves, Sceledrus and Anthrax, argued very convincingly and the thief was as sneaky as can be! When the winners were announced, we discovered that GHS had won the Year 6 section.

Adele, Class 6S & Isobel, Class 6H

NICKI THORNTON VISITS YEAR 4We were all so excited that Nicki Thornton, the author of The Last Chance Hotel, was coming to our school. We have been reading the book in our English lessons and love its unexpected plot twists. She told us about how she became a writer and which books inspired her, and we asked lots of questions about the book. She visited our classroom to help us with our ideas for writing mystery stories. She had brought in a special box full of interesting everyday items and asked us to think about what magical properties they could have.

Freya, Sophia & Zara 4M

A BRILLI-ANT MINIBEASTSWORKSHOPWe had a workshop where we all learnt about minibeasts. We all turned into little spiders and we built a unicorn web! It was funny when we were ‘falling asleep’ and Kenn said he did not know what a minibeast was. We also liked it when Kenn and Iain said they wished they could become little centipedes; we all laughed. We learnt that bees have really long tongues called proboscis and we pretended to be bumble bees collecting nectar. We had so much fun.

Class RB

AROUND SCHOOL

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AROUND SCHOOL

BRINGING BOOKS TO LIFE AT GHS - WORLD BOOK DAYWorld Book Day was celebrated over two days in the Junior School. It never fails to bring excitement and anticipation to GHS and this year was no exception.

There were hundreds of creative outfits ranging from Elsa to Harry Potter, Mrs Coulter to His Dark Materials, Hercule Poirot, Barney from ‘Stig of the Dump’ and Laura Ingalls from ‘Little House on the Prairie’. We held a book swap as a thoughtful way of giving to each other. Openbox ran story-telling workshops with Iain reading the first chapter of ‘You’re a Bad Man, Mister Gum’ followed by Kenn reading ‘My Monster and Me’.

Reception to Year 4 participated in Dance workshops with the purpose of ‘bringing books to life’. Girls explored ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘The Enormous Crocodile’ by dancing and singing along to the stories. In the afternoon, Openbox performed their own version of the Three Little Pigs where the pig was bad and the wolf was good. It was so funny we were crying with laughter. World Book Day is a tradition which GHS will forever love and celebrate.

Isla 3V, Evelyn, Jasmine & Sophie 4M, Zara 6S

PASTORAL EVENTS

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PASTORAL EVENTS

WELLBEING WEEK: LIGHT AND DARKWhat a week! The girls enjoyed our annual Wellbeing Week with events and talks organised for them every day, focusing on our theme of Light and Dark. The point of this week is to really focus in on our physical and mental wellbeing. On Monday, we started with a Junior and Senior School combined assembly and also had a record-breaking Bubble Wizard providing entertainment. He put on a marvellous show for the girls, which included getting girls to make giant bubbles and also putting Mrs Wardell inside a bubble - brave man. Tuesday saw some girls trying their hand at Flower Arranging, with some rather beautiful displays being sent home. The Circus rolled back into school on Wednesday with two performers entertaining the parents at drop-off (a relief from the dreaded traffic lights!). They showed their skills off at a workshop where the girls could try out the different acts for themselves. The Silent Glow Disco was back on Thursday with girls stomping to the beat with their headphones on. Friday was Hygge Day...

Mr Toby Day

HYGGE DAY

Hygge is defined in the Collins English Dictionary as ‘the practice of creating cosy and congenial environments that promote wellbeing’. What an incredibly appropriate way to end the week. The girls could bring dressing gowns, blankets, slippers and teddy bears to school. Their teddies sat on their desks and their blankets kept them cuddly and warm. As a very special Hygge treat, an ice cream van parked in the Junior playground and the girls could choose between chocolate, honeycomb, strawberry, vanilla and chiaroscuro cones! It was a special way to end our Wellbeing Week.

Mr Toby Day

COMMUNITY

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PASTORAL EVENTS

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SPRING IS IN THE AIR - CROCUS PLANTINGAt the beginning of the year, the gardener dug some big holes and we planted some crocus bulbs. The holes were in the shape of a G, H and S. They started off as bulbs and then they turned into flowers. When crocuses grow, they have lots of different colours, not just one colour and they are very pretty. They need water and lots of sunlight to help them grow. We went back to see our flowers. They looked so pretty and they spelt GHS.

Classes RB & RD

YEAR 6 COFFEE CONCERT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY

MAKING GHS ECO-FRIENDLY WITH SURREY WILDLIFE TRUSTLizzie from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came into school to talk to us about being aware of the animals around us. She inspired us to build homes for animals such as butterflies, frogs, birds and many more. She made us realise how much water we use each day - about 80 litres per person. The Eco Captains walked around the playground with Lizzie and Miss Lovegrove to see if we could be more eco-friendly. She suggested that we could add more water butts, bird houses and bug hotels!

Georgia & Tala, Class 6H

Year 6 welcomed senior citizens from our community into school for a Coffee Concert in our Junior Hall. We were dressed up in our World Book Day costumes and had to explain to our visitors who we were. We chatted happily to them whilst they were served with tea, coffee and cakes. There were a variety of performances, including LAMDA and music, which wowed our visitors. The senior citizens left with music in their ears and us in their hearts.

Charlotte, Class 6H

SPORT

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SPORT

GYM AND DANCE DAYOur annual gym and dance showcases are a great opportunity to present the Gym and Dance skills the girls have been developing throughout the term and how they apply it to the other topics in the classroom. In Pre-Prep the girls rose to the challenge and told the tales of minibeasts and performed impressive balance block displays. It was great to celebrate all of their hard work at the end with a parent, teacher and pupil dancing finale! In KS2, the girls were Roman Warfare, funky Egyptians and even Rio Carnival dancers. The girls were desperate to find out who had won our Inter-House Gym Competition which was very close. Well done to Watts House!

Miss Georgie Dustin

SPORT

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SPORT

A GREAT TERM OF HOCKEY

Hockey is now in its second season at GHS and the improvements are already beginning to show. Squad players trained with determination and resilience improving their stick skills and developing their knowledge of match play, rules and tactics. The U10A & U11A teams visited Cranleigh School and the U10A team came fourth place in Rowan’s annual tournament against schools who dedicate a great deal of curriculum lesson time to the sport.

Miss Georgie Dustin

SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS

GHS had an incredible run at the Independent Schools Ski Championships! This year’s event saw nearly 300 racers from 18 schools battling in competition in plentiful snow but high winds. These difficult conditions caused the closure of the glacier and other pistes, which was a shame, but the girls managed to fit in plenty of ski instruction and racing.

In the competition, there were a huge variety of good racers, but GHS held their own and improved enormously. With no podium finishes last year, we featured 11 times this year in both the Junior and Senior races, which was well deserved. GHS dominated in the girls’ Junior event, winning the Team Slalom and Giant Slalom with great performances from Lucy and Imogen who placed first and third respectively in Slalom and second and third in Giant Slalom. Molly and Millie made up the team and helped to secure the overall team first prize in the Juniors.

Mrs Tara Oxley

GHS GYMNASTS CROWNED SURREY CHAMPIONSThere was great success for the U9 Gymnastics team who competed in the Surrey Schools Floor and Vault Competition against nine other schools. The team consisted of Charlotte, Jessica, Ottilie, Sophia, Jamie and Sofia. All girls did extremely well and gave very polished performances. GHS were crowned Surrey Champions by over two marks and Jamie achieved the highest score of the day.

Towards the end of term, Flora and Louise took part in the British Schools Tumbling competition. Both girls performed excellently with Flora taking first place and Louise coming in at second.

Mrs Tara Oxley

A BUSY TERM OF NETBALL

Our pioneering Year 3s and 4s have been the first year groups to play “Bee Netball” this season after England Netball revised its guidelines on primary participation of the game. BEE Netball ensures all girls have a well-rounded skill set across the court. The Year 6 netballers were kept very busy this term with lots of fixtures, home and away. Of note was the whole year group U11A-F tournament at Holy Cross. All the girls played well and the U11F team won their tournament. The two key events for the U11A girls were the IAPS and the Surreys. In the IAPS qualifying tournament, the GHS team made it to the quarter finals. In the Surrey’s, fired up by their IAPS result, the U11A team went one step further and made it to the semi-finals.

Miss Georgie Dustin

SPORT

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SPORT

PRE-PREP SPORT

Our girls continue to prove it is never too early to foster a love of sport! Not to be outdone by the KS2 girls, the Pre-Prep have been very busy this term with various sporting activities and events for our youngest athletes. The Junior Fun Run just before Christmas was a great opportunity for the Pre-Prep girls to display their love of running and racing and we were very pleased to see so many Pre-Prep parents supporting the event. In addition, Year 2 took part in a “Little Kickers” workshop to improve their Football skills and both staff and the coaches were impressed with the natural talent the girls showed for a sport that many had never tried before.

All of the Pre-Prep have enjoyed in their lessons an introduction to throwing, catching and striking skills in preparation for some fun activities next term, including the Pre-Prep Cricket Festivals in partnership with Surrey Cricket and of course our end of term Sports Day.

Miss Georgie Dustin

SWIMMING: SCHOOL RECORDS SET AT IAPS AND RELAY WINS AT ESSA

GHS hosted the U10 and U11 IAPS Swimming Regional Rounds this term. Keira and Lucy both achieved new school records in the 50m backstroke and butterfly respectively. We will find out early next term if our girls have qualified for the National Finals at the London Aquatics Centre in June.

At the ESSA National Team Championships, the U11 team comprising Lucy, Keira, Claudia and Cammie performed very well and won both the relay events. Year 6 have taken part in personal survival lessons during their curriculum time and expanded their own knowledge of how to enjoy the water safely and respectfully.

Miss Georgie Dustin

Inspiring Girls

Guildford High School, London Road, Guildford, GU1 1SJ

01483 562475 | www.guildfordhigh.co.uk